I wouldn’t call myself an online shopping “expert”, but I do buy most items online.
Call me a hermit, but I love the convience of not having to leave the house and the luxury of researching to find the cheapest price.
Best of all, I love getting packages at my doorstep. No matter how boring the items may be, I still feel like it’s Christmas.
Being the thrifty person I am, I thought I’d share practical and totally easy ways you can save the most money while online shopping.
1. Subscribe!
You don’t have to give them your personal email. For example, I use a separate email account just for online shopping. I check it every few days so my normal inbox won’t be bombarded. But it’s always good to subscribe because retailer’s tend to send e-newsletters a few weeks before sales begin. It’ll make it easy to stay ahead of special deals and promotions, and it’s a great way to score special subscriber-only coupons .
2. Always Try To Find Coupon Codes
Before I purchase anything online, I do a quick search to see if has a coupon code. Usually there is one! Websites like The Budget Fashionista, Current Codes, Retail Me Not, and lots of other sites are dedicated to finding and posting coupon codes. If all else fails, just Google “coupon code for (whatever you’re looking to buy)”. These are a great way to score a deals on free shipping, free merchandise, and discounts.
3. Start Online Shopping Midweek:
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday are the most popular days for online retailers to roll out discount codes and put items on sale. Hooray for hump day!
4. Use Apps To Find The Lowest Prices:
With all the fancy shmancy new apps coming out lately, some can really save you some money. For example, PriceBlink is an app you can add to your browser that will show you the lowest available price for the item you’re looking for. It will also give you any shipping and coupon codes that you can use from the retailer you’re shopping from.
5. Track price history:
If you want to be sure you’re getting the best price possible for an item online stores like Amazon, Best Buy, or Newegg, install this browser add-on. It’ll track its pricing history so you’ll know if you’re getting a deal or not.
6. Use Amazon’s filler item finder to hit free shipping minimum
In order to take advantage of Amazon’s free shipping, you need to spend at least $35. If you’re a couple bucks short, this app will show you what items you can add to your cart in order to make the minimum.
7. Use Groolu to Get The Best Local Deals All In One Place
Instead of checking the tons “Groupon-like” sites for deals, Groolu rounds up deals by geographic location from Groupon, LivingSocial, Adility, and Tippr, all in one place. It’ll tell you when new deals are available and there’s no need to waste your time checking every single site.
8. NEVER EVER Pay Full Price For Designers
There are so many consignment online stores that you’re bound to find even brand new designer items at a fraction of the original cost. Sites like Tradesy, The Real Real and Bib & Tuck are great for sourcing past-season and vintage items at a deal—just be cautious and do some research. Do a quick search on sites like eBay, Yoox, The Outnet or Bluefly search to make sure the same piece isn’t currently available for less. It’s usually way easier to impulse buy when you think it’s a steal, so just make sure you’re getting a steal for real!
9. Get Cash Back
I always check to see if I can get some cash back from Ebates before I buy anything online. There are other cash back online shopping services, but I’ve only tried Ebates. It’s never a lot of money, typically 1%-8% (cash back percentages depend on stores) back on the total cost of your purchase, but I still see it as being paid to shop.
10. Sign Up For Price Drops
Don’t just settle for any price you see. There’s a few websites that will email (or tweet/ Facebook message you) to alert you know whenever your selected product’s price on Amazon goes down, or when a price hits a certain, user-specified low. Try Keepa.com, or CamelCamelCamel.com, or The Tracktor, or BuyLater.com.
